How To Migrate ZHA Devices To New Coordinator

"With SLZB Ultima, you can migrate ZHA devices from one coordinator to another without rebuilding your whole network." "The new ZHA migrate flow can transfer your Zigbee network even across different adapter families (like Z-Stack to Ember) — it actually works." "The key is having both coordinators connected at the same time so ZHA can back up from the old one and restore to the new one." "You may need to adjust the socket port when switching chipset types, but the process is still straightforward." "After migration, give it a few minutes to settle, then verify devices respond and rename the adapter to avoid confusion."

Transcript

Hi, I’m Tim, and thanks for watching the Mr. Tim Tech YouTube channel. In my previous video, I showed a tutorial on migrating your Zigbee2MQTT (Z2M) devices from one coordinator to another. In this video, I’m going to show you how to do the same thing using ZHA. So, if your devices are connected to ZHA (and not Z2M), this video is for you. What’s great is that the creators of ZHA have included a built-in migrate option, so you can move your Zigbee devices from one coordinator to another. You can even migrate between different network types—for example, from an Ember-based coordinator to a Z-Stack-based coordinator (and vice versa). Let’s get started. Jump onto the computer with me and I’ll walk you through it. On my computer, I have three browser tabs open: Home Assistant in one tab, the SLZB MR3 in another, and the new coordinator in a third tab (the SLZB-Ultima). The most important thing is that both coordinators must be plugged in at the same time. ZHA needs the old coordinator connected to back up the network, and the new coordinator connected so it can restore and transfer everything across. You also need to make sure the radio you’re migrating to is set to Zigbee coordinator mode. If it’s set to something else—like Matter over Thread—disable that and switch it to Zigbee coordinator mode. In the web interface, you can do this by going to Mode on the left, toggling to Zigbee coordinator, and waiting for it to flash the correct firmware. I’ve already done that on both adapters. Now, in Home Assistant, go to Settings (bottom-left), then select Zigbee. You should see an option called Migrate adapter. Click that. A message will appear explaining that ZHA will be stopped and a backup will be performed. Click Submit and wait for the backup to complete. This can take a few minutes, depending on how many Zigbee devices you have on your ZHA network. Just to be clear: this process is for ZHA, not Zigbee2MQTT (Z2M). If you’re using Z2M, check my previous video. Once the backup is done, you’ll see a prompt asking whether you’re migrating to a new adapter or reconfiguring the current one. Select Migrate to a new adapter. Next, you’ll be asked for the adapter type. In this example, I’m migrating from a Z-Stack-based chipset to an Ember-based chipset to prove it works across chipset families. ZHA supports migrating across different adapter types, so you can move between families like Ember and Z-Stack (and other supported adapters). So here, I select the Ember option (EZSP), then click Submit. Now you’ll need to enter the serial device path using a socket address for the new coordinator. Go to the new coordinator’s dashboard tab and copy its mDNS address. Then go back to Home Assistant and paste it into the socket field, replacing the existing value. At this point, you may need to adjust the port number. On the new coordinator’s page, under the Z2M and ZHA section, you can see the correct socket port for the chipset you’re using. For the Ember option in my example, I change the port to match what’s shown there. In general, if you migrate within the same chipset family (for example, Z-Stack to Z-Stack), you may not need to change the port. But if you migrate between families (Z-Stack ↔ Ember), you likely will. After entering the correct socket and port, click Submit. Next, you’ll be asked how you want to migrate your network backup. Choose Migrate automatically (recommended). Now ZHA will reset the old adapter (it should still be plugged in) and then restore the Zigbee network to the new adapter. This step can take a little while depending on how many devices you have. Once it’s finished, you should see a confirmation message that ZHA has successfully migrated from the old adapter to the new one. If you no longer need the old adapter, you can unplug it whenever you want—immediately or later. I recommend leaving things alone for about five minutes after migration. Then go back to your Home Assistant overview and test a device to confirm it responds properly. After waiting a few minutes, I went back to the overview, tested a smart plug I migrated, and I can confirm it turns on and off correctly. One more thing: go to Settings → Devices & Services → Zigbee Home Automation. You may notice the socket name still shows the old adapter name. That’s just a label—rename it to match the new coordinator so it’s not confusing. Click the three dots, select Rename, update the name, and save. That’s it—this is how you migrate your Zigbee devices in ZHA from one coordinator to another, including between different chipset families. Thanks for watching. I hope you found this useful. And again, if you’re using Zigbee2MQTT (Z2M), please check my previous video. Take care, and I’ll see you in the next one. Bye for now.